Prophetic Vision: A Revelation From God About Spiritual Warfare

Keep your head up, he said, you are a lion, don’t forget that and neither will the sheep.―Atticus

After the beach revivals, I kept hearing reports about the flourishing New Age movement happening in Santa Cruz, and that only 3 percent of that city was Christian.

We decided to plan a “mission trip” to Santa Cruz and invite others to join us. My friend Kris Kildosher was living in Santa Cruz at the time and told us that on Halloween, the satanic temple hosted “unbaptisms” there. To me, this seemed like a clear sign of what weekend we needed to be there.

Once we said “Yes” to God to move forward with the trip, we got hit hard spiritually. Doubt, fear, insecurity, drama, and confusion surrounded me like a giant cloud. I got sick with the flu and was stuck in bed for a week. Our core team was struggling to get on the same page with next steps, roles, who was leading what, how involved people wanted to be, schedule changes, miscommunication, and more. I wanted to quit several times.

While the spiritual attacks and confusion with the team created so much emotional turmoil within me, our family was also being covered with incredible miracle blessings. About ten different miracles came together that orchestrated the ability for us to purchase a second vehicle. This would be the first time our family would have two cars (with three kids)! I was able to get my “dream” car, a used white Jeep Wrangler with a tan leather interior. That same month, I also signed a contract for a book deal (this book!), which was a promise God had given me ten years ago!

As we entered into October, my friend Jen sent me a text message asking if I wanted to come with her to the Bonnie Brae House, which is the site where the Azusa Street Revival was birthed by William J. Seymour in 1906. Prophet and intercessor Lou Engle was going to be speaking there with a small group of people, and I was excited for the opportunity to meet him, listen to what he was hearing from God, and finally visit the house “behind the gate” of the Azusa landmark.

I quickly texted, “Yes!”

Parker agreed to watch the kids and I moved around all of my work to free up the entire day. That Monday, Jen and I drove up to L.A. in my new Jeep. As we drove up the 405 freeway and made our way to Westlake, I vented to Jen everything that was going on in my heart. It is so important to have a small group of people you can be completely transparent with, to share how you are really doing. I told her that I just felt so confused. I didn’t know how we were going to minister in Santa Cruz without a team. Our intercessors from this summer were no longer able to come up the coast with us, and I felt like this was a huge hole in our “spiritual armor.” We talked about revival history, and she reassured me that everything I was experiencing was actually quite normal. I shared with her that this past month I felt like I had been mentored by Charles G. Finney. His book Revivals of Religion was truly guiding me in the unknown territory of revival. In some ways, he felt like a spiritual father to me.

We arrived at the Bonnie Brae House and it was powerful! I loved being on the site and could feel the tangible presence of God. Lou Engle spoke to the small group of us sitting under the tent, avoiding the blazing sun, and clinging to his every word. We joined hands together and prayed, prayed for the nation, for God’s will to be done, and for revival. As we contended, I prayed in repentance about abortion in our nation. After prayer was finished, Lou and one of his disciples Mando called Jen and me over to connect. We talked a bit about what the Lord was doing, I shared my experiences from the summer beach revival, and we prayed together. Afterward, Mando invited all of us to his house for lunch, and then to HRock Church that evening, where they would be launching a new prayer movement that night.

I called Parker and told him I really felt like he needed to be there and to join me ASAP! He quickly found a sitter (life with three kids, y’all!) and drove up and met us at Mando’s house in Pasadena. We gathered around a few tables and enjoyed warm soup and sandwiches. Mando’s house was full of activity! Missionaries and students came in and out, children ran up and down the stairs, people gathered on couches engaged in deep conversation, and I quietly sat at the table nibbling the turkey that peeked out of the edge of my French roll sandwich.

Mando sat on one side of me and Jen on the other. We shared stories of our experiences, the normal “background” information, and so forth. Then Mando explained to me more about the ministry he was leading called Ekballo. They called it Ekballo because Jesus uses the word ekballo in Matthew 9:38, where He begs His disciples to “pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth (in Greek, ekballo) laborers into the harvest field.” Ekballo is not the normal term used for “send,” as most of our translations have it. It is a spiritually violent word filled with passion and force. It means to thrust out. It is the same word Jesus used when He said, “If I cast out (ekballo) demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20 NASB).

Then, something crazy happened.

Mando explained that their ministry was specifically focused on intercession for harvest. He felt like he was the Nash to a Finney.

I looked at Jen in shock and said nothing. I could feel that God was giving me a little hint that He had heard my prayers!

Daniel Nash was an intercessor and co-laborer of revival with Charles Finney in the early 1800s. He would partner through prayer and intercession ahead of time in the cities where Finney would host revival meetings.

Link

Later that afternoon, Lou asked Parker and me to share with the Ekballo team what we had been experiencing regarding revival. As we began, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to share with them about our vision for Santa Cruz. We wanted to win all of California, and we needed to strike the enemy at the source.

Lou sat at attention and began rocking back and forth in his chair. Lou’s voice is raspy but powerful, and when he speaks it sounds like thunder.

After hearing about our vision to go to Santa Cruz, Lou turned to Mando and said, “Mando, I think you are supposed to join with them! I think you are to link arms!”

Mando looked to the team and asked if they wanted to go, and everyone in the room said, “Yes!” Mando linked arms with Parker on one side and me on the other, with Joel the worship leader for Ekballo on the other side me. The rest of the Ekballo team linked arms together with us and prayed for California.

In a moment, God had orchestrated an intercessor movement for us to link arms with and saturate Santa Cruz with the Gospel. It was the “I’m with you” moment that I needed from God to move forward!

Mission Trip

About two weeks before the trip, miraculous provision came in! One donor had sent us money for a “home base” while in Santa Cruz and we were able to rent a magnificent house right on the beach that could sleep a whole group of us. Over that summer, we had met an incredible couple from Santa Cruz, Logan and Kerri Rooney. We had connected originally on Instagram, and they drove down to the beach revivals in July. After several conversations, we were in the process of helping them launch a Salt micro church in their area. They were both fired up to share the Gospel on the streets, make disciples, move in power, and partner with God’s plans for Santa Cruz!

Over the five days of prayer, training, and ministry, it was intense. I have never witnessed so many deliverances happen in one weekend. We got to visit Yonngi Cho’s “Prayer Mountain” where Mando led us in prayer and declarations over the region. You could feel everything shifting. I did a quick training on deliverance and evangelism for the team and then we hit the streets in small teams. Demons were being provoked and cast out, people were having encounters with Jesus on the street, getting healed, and ultimately getting saved! We all came back to the house, gathered over pizza, and shared testimonies of what God had done. After everyone had left, Kerri brought over a girl who had been tormented demonically and was having several physical issues. Kendra, Vic, Mavis, Taylor, Kerri and I prayed with her for several hours and she was delivered and healed in our AirBNB!

The night before Halloween, we partnered with Kevin and Theresa Dedmon on the wharf. They led a creative arts evangelism outreach and treasure hunt. They gave us so many incredible tools, and I couldn’t believe how powerfully God was moving. Victoria and I walked up and down the boardwalk. As we gave away pictures with prophetic words, we got to lead one person after another into a relationship with Jesus.

Joel led worship right there on the edge of the beach. We had people painting, interpreting tattoos, giving away prophetic words, and more! Several members of the Ekballo team came rushing over with reports of sharing the Gospel and leading people to Jesus. More deliverance happened on the street! It was so much fun! Kris Kildosher shared the Gospel and about fifteen people raised their hands to begin following Jesus. This was crazy! In a place where 3 percent of the population is Christian, we were seeing a whole group of people turning to Jesus right there on the wharf. It was, indeed, harvest season!

This was very likely my favorite weekend of ministry since living in California. I could feel deep within my spirit how much my soul needed the refreshment of being among the lost. I know it sounds strange, but as an evangelist, at times Christian environments can become very exhausting. I come alive when I am around people who are living in darkness, and I am filled with expectancy for them to encounter God!

Demons, Satanic Temples, and Sickness—Oh, My

I jumped on Facebook and I discovered that the satanic temple decided to postpone their “unbaptism” event that was originally planned for Halloween! To me and the team, this was a great victory! We were shifting the spiritual environment!

After street outreach, our new friend Jesse West hosted a revival night at Convergence Santa Cruz. I was tired from ministering but felt like the Lord wanted me to be there. Kris was speaking that night and out of nowhere decided to take an offering for us. He asked everyone to pray and place the money at our feet. As people came over and dropped nickels, dimes, and dollars, the Spirit of God washed over me, and I started to uncontrollably weep. Like, ugly-snot-cry. The amount given was the exact amount we needed to be able to pay our rent that month!

Saturday evening was Halloween. I felt physically exhausted. As the teams went out for street ministry, I felt like I needed to stay back and take a nap. Later that evening, Victoria, Kendra, and I joined the teams on Main Street in downtown. The streets were filled with the occult. Within a matter of ten minutes, I saw several people manifesting demonically. What was so incredible is that it didn’t seem to throw anyone off! Theresa Dedmon told me story after story of good reports of people who had seen a painting and got a touch from Heaven. Kris and Joe stood on the corner and shared stories of baptisms from that day, deliverances, and spiritual showdowns. As we talked, a parade of people dressed in demon costumes marched by. I felt like if they took the stories of Elijah and applied these to a modern-day theme and made a movie, this was it.

Special Ops

That evening, I started to feel very sick. The next day, I woke up with an extremely high fever and unable to keep my eyes open. We had plans to head to San Francisco to minister, and yet I could not get out of bed. I could not eat a thing, and my entire body felt too weak to move. Parker decided to load us all up in the car with the kids and drive back to Orange County.

As we checked out of our place in Santa Cruz, I texted Joanne, Tracy, and my friend Ana Werner who is a seer. I asked them to pray and told them that I was feeling wildly sick and not able to go to San Francisco. As we drove out of Santa Cruz, Ana left me a voice memo. On the voice memo, she prayed for me to be healed and said that she saw a “spirit of offense” that may have “slimed me” during ministry. She encouraged that I should pray to just command it to go. I told Parker, and he began to pray for me as we drove onto US Highway 1. As he prayed, I felt a tightening around my throat. All of a sudden, my mind was flooded with thoughts like, “No one cares about me,” “I am all alone,” “I laid in bed sick all day and no one prayed for me.” Parker said, “Jess, command the spirit of offense to go right now!” I closed my eyes tightly as the grip around my throat got tighter. I couldn’t get the words out as burning hot tears streamed down my face. My fever rose and my entire body ached. Parker put his hand on my head and declared, “Spirit of offense, I command you to go! Holy Spirit, fill this car with Your presence!”

I felt a giant release and shift and was able to take a breath. I looked up at Parker, sweat soaking the edges of my face, and said, “Babe, we need to figure this out. We can’t keep going into the fight blind.”

The following week, I turned on the fireplace in our living room and took out a small notebook. I scribbled on the front, “Strategies for War.” We then wrote down a few strategies that the Holy Spirit was showing us—how to rest, prioritizing the secret place, silencing the noise, discerning who to allow to speak into what areas, preventing false prophets from having authority at our events, and so on. I texted Ana and thanked her for what she shared the week prior. She then texted me and said while worshiping in church the Lord said, “Pray for Jessi, pray for strategy.” I sat in awe; we were home working on that very thing.

Later that day, Ana left me another voice memo. (Listen, that’s how you gotta roll sometimes when you both are in full time ministry with kids!) She mentioned to me that some ministry leaders have what they call a special ops team. A team of trusted prophets, seers, and intercessors they could call upon before engaging in bigger ministry events and other assignments.

Immediately, I knew we had to pray into this. This was what we needed. Over the summer, we received a few hundred prophecies. Some words were very encouraging, some mentioned what we should do with Saturate and how God was using us, others were very confusing and sowed fear, doubt, and discord. As a reaction, I shut down the prophetic words that were coming in and had my friend collect them and put them in a separate Google Drive folder.

As Parker and I prayed together over three weeks, God highlighted to us eight people. We reached out to them individually, and each one prayed and then agreed to join our humble “special ops” team.

Victory

Here is my insight when it comes to spiritual warfare—don’t get overwhelmed by what you don’t know. Keep your eyes focused on the Victor. Jesus has defeated satan. Our victory over every evil and demonic thing is in Him. Stay humble and keep learning. Ask God to show you what books to read. (This past summer I picked up books on seer gifts, prophetic witchcraft, discernment, and old revival books.) Then finally, ask God who you can trust.

The enemy will try to take you out if you isolate yourself. There need to be people who can call out blind spots, areas where offense or bitterness or pride has snuck in. (It happens to us all!) You need people who can say “no” to you or “wait.”

Over lunch one afternoon, Jeremy Riddle said, “Momentum is a terrible leader.” I couldn’t agree more, and I felt like he put to words something we were so often trying to explain to people. There were many times this summer when the crowd “demanded” we keep going or do one thing or another. Our job isn’t to listen to the crowds or to react to the attacks of the enemy. Our job is to keep our hearts fleshy, forgive quickly, seek God, and ask Him, “Lord, what do You want? Lead me, protect me, and show me who I should partner with in this.”

He will speak to you.